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Should James Holmes (Batman killing) get the death penalty?

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Given the fact that he even did such a thing, his lawyers will probably get him to plead insanity, meaning he probably won't be given the death penalty. :frown:
Killing him,would also save a lot of money that would be wasted on looking after him in prison.If you kill several people in minutes.,I doubt your capable of a reform-its just too much the evil could never be vanquished from his soul.The death penalty should also be made very painful and torturous.
Reply 22
Avatar for Tycho
Tycho
14
Locking him up for life is the best option. I'm opposed to the death penalty for a variety of reasons, irrespective of whether the criminal may deserve it or not.
No, everyone is capable of contributing positively to society. You don't just extinguish somebody because they are a weak link, you help them. We are not barbarians who kill off individuals in our society because they do not abide, I fear that this is a repercussion of that primal instinct... if we do kill him off we are no better than the barbarians!

Overcome this awful instinct and approach everything in a humanistic manner.
I don't think the death penalty is ever justified. Will killing him change anything? Will it bring back the dead, or make the families' lives better? No, it won't. Justice should not be based around revenge. I think death is too good for him.
Reply 25
Avatar for Tycho
Tycho
14
Original post by Dalek1099
Killing him,would also save a lot of money that would be wasted on looking after him in prison.If you kill several people in minutes.,I doubt your capable of a reform-its just too much the evil could never be vanquished from his soul.The death penalty should also be made very painful and torturous.


It's a myth that criminals who have been sentenced to death are less costly to the taxpayer. In many cases they are more costly. In America someone can be on death row for 20-30 years before they are actually executed. Keeping a deathrow inmate locked up is more costly than keeping them in general population at a SuperMax. And then the costs of the multiple appeals spanning many years and the costs of administering the execution are all extremely high. So your argument on financial grounds is very ignorant.

Your second point is just barbaric and filled with hatred, and if you feel this way then I suspect you need to get some councelling.
Reply 26
Avatar for roh
roh
17
Has he had a psyc report yet? That would be a factor for a lot of people I imagine, he didn't look totally with it at the hearing the other day.
I think he should be put on the death penalty purely on the fact that everyday the victims who've had their brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers killed have to wake up to the fact that the muderer is still breathing.

And I think calling it not justice but revenge is stupid.
Reply 28
Avatar for Miracle Day
Miracle Day
OP
21
Original post by Tycho
It's a myth that criminals who have been sentenced to death are less costly to the taxpayer. In many cases they are more costly. In America someone can be on death row for 20-30 years before they are actually executed. Keeping a deathrow inmate locked up is more costly than keeping them in general population at a SuperMax. And then the costs of the multiple appeals spanning many years and the costs of administering the execution are all extremely high. So your argument on financial grounds is very ignorant.

Your second point is just barbaric and filled with hatred, and if you feel this way then I suspect you need to get some councelling.


I actually agree with his second point.. I just imagine if I was one of the victims family and it was my baby sister who got shot or something
Reply 29
Avatar for Aoide
Aoide
11
The idea we should do it to make the family of his family feel better is disgusting. Yes they have suffered a great loss but I find it appaling they would take pleasure from his death. As i said before that isn't justice it is revenge.
Depends on the outcome of his psychiatric evaluation.

I know it's easy to look at such a horrible act and demand somebodies head on a spike but sometimes things aren't that simple. It's unfair to kill him if he was not in a sound enough state-of-mind to be held responsible.

Although to whoever said he should be allowed to live because he will never be able to positively contribute to society if he dies, I think that ship's probably sailed.
Nope, because as I discovered in a thread I made a while ago, the death penalty is a fundamentally bad idea.

"The punishment of criminals should serve a purpose. When a man is hanged, he is useless". ~ Voltaire
Original post by Tycho
It's a myth that criminals who have been sentenced to death are less costly to the taxpayer. In many cases they are more costly. In America someone can be on death row for 20-30 years before they are actually executed. Keeping a deathrow inmate locked up is more costly than keeping them in general population at a SuperMax. And then the costs of the multiple appeals spanning many years and the costs of administering the execution are all extremely high. So your argument on financial grounds is very ignorant.

Your second point is just barbaric and filled with hatred, and if you feel this way then I suspect you need to get some councelling.


It costs so much because they don't execute them straight away-this man could be executed straight away because we know he is guilty.
Original post by U.Ahmed
The only time I would say no to the death penalty would be if there was any doubt whether the person committed the crime or not.
In this case, there is no doubt whatsoever, and I believe that he should be handed the death penalty as soon as possible.


Erm, murder trials are 'beyond all reasonable doubt' anyway..

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100
Original post by lukas1051
I don't think the death penalty is ever justified. Will killing him change anything? Will it bring back the dead, or make the families' lives better? No, it won't. Justice should not be based around revenge. I think death is too good for him.


I think he should be put on the death penalty purely on the fact that everyday the victims who've had their brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers killed have to wake up to the fact that the muderer is still breathing.

And I think calling it not justice but revenge is stupid.
Reply 35
Avatar for Sly Blade
Sly Blade
The word evil is being thrown around a lot, firstly humans are incapable of truly knowing evil everything we do is done with a reason of some description, this reasoning can stem from a lot of things mostly straight forward logic/psychology. In the case of the insane then there is still a reason, a predominant thought that has led him to this course of action it is just considered to be illogical. I don't know much about this case but if he is insane it could come down to (very simply) he was bullied and the only way he saw to make himself less of a target was to kill (in general not necessarily the bully). Either way it means the man cannot truly be "a monster" or "evil" and therefore expunging him from existence is not truly justified. Therefore he should be sent to prison (which i have been told time and time again is actually cheaper here in Britain than the death penalty don't know whats its costs are like in the USA) where someone who is capable of delving into his problem may be able to set it straight and return him to being a positive member of society. Oh and one last thing if memory serves he was anything but a dead beat before the killings he had a job worked and went to uni etc.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 36
Avatar for Miracle Day
Miracle Day
OP
21
Original post by benpearson1
Nope, because as I discovered in a thread I made a while ago, the death penalty is a fundamentally bad idea.

"The punishment of criminals should serve a purpose. When a man is hanged, he is useless". ~ Voltaire


But this man is useless!

No way will he ever be released back into society, he'll just be in prison for the rest of his life.
Reply 37
Avatar for Marlena002
Marlena002
No. I might be in the minority among Americans, but I am 100% against capital punishment.

I'm a firm believer in rehabilitation and I do think some people, even those who have killed, can be re-entered into society at some point. I don't believe James Holmes is one of those people, he definitely deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life. But no human (Holmes, a jury of his peers or a judge) has the right to decide whether another lives or dies.

Completely understandable that the survivors and families of victims want him dead, but in a civilized society you can't let emotion and blood lust dictate the course of justice.

Just MO.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 38
Avatar for Aoide
Aoide
11
And I think calling it not justice but revenge is stupid.

Why?
It is in no way an admirable thing that you want someone dead because it will make you feel better. They aren't trying to improve things they just want to see someone they hate suffer.
Original post by Dalek1099
Killing him,would also save a lot of money that would be wasted on looking after him in prison.If you kill several people in minutes.,I doubt your capable of a reform-its just too much the evil could never be vanquished from his soul.The death penalty should also be made very painful and torturous.


That is an absolutely terrible and horrific idea. Of course I think it's atrocious the crimes he has committed, but that does not justify a torturous murder in the slightest.

By the way, your grammar and use of punctuation is truly awful.

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